Hocus Pocus
by Lilith Deckerstar
Summary: A favor called her to them, but a promise made her stay. John did something that no other hunter had done before. He saved a witch from a demon. After the life debt was paid, Delilah joined the Winchester brothers in hunting evil.
1. In My Time of Dying

In the woods, a house sits in the middle of a glade with a dirt path leading to it. Delilah walked into her garden room, carrying a small pot and place it on the workbench. She reaches for the shelves and grabs a marigold seed before placing it in the pot and covering it with dirt. She closes her eyes and places her hand atop to channel her energy into the flower. As her hand slowly rises a flower grows and blooms. Delilah opens her eyes and smiles. She places the flower pot on a wall shelf before snapping her fingers causing the skylight above the plants to open and let the fresh air and sunlight in.

Her smile faded when she heard the voice of a man, who saved her a few years ago, say, "Delilah, I need to call in that favor."

She could hear the sadness in his voice. Delilah envisioned him and got a clear picture of his location. She teleported herself to a hospital room with a man lying on a bed with a breathing tube in his mouth and the man who saved her life sitting in a wheelchair next to him.

"John, what happened?" She asked.

"My sons and I were in the Impala when a truck t-boned us, but the driver was possessed by a demon," He explained, "Dean is in a coma, and the doctor's don't know when or even if he'll wake up. You know as well as I do that when a person is in a coma, they're on a thin line between life and death, I want you to look after Dean while he's in a coma, can you do that?"

"John, you know that when it is someone's time it's their time, and if something disrupts with it, then it will disrupt the natural order and cause a chain of death, but I will try as long as I can to prevent his death. I promise, John," Delilah replied.

"Thank you."

A nurse came in and wheeled John back to his room, but Delilah cloaked herself from being seen by the nurse. When the Nurse was out of the room, Delilah made herself visible. Then she felt the presence of someone else in the room, and she knew who it was.

"Alright, who or what the hell are you?"

Delilah turned around behind her and saw Dean.

"Hello, Dean," She greeted in a calm voice, "My name is Delilah, I'm a friend of your Father's. I know right now you must be angry and confused as to why nobody can hear and see you. Right now you are in a plane of existence, where the spirit exists outside the body, I like to call it the in-between. And to answer your other question: I'm a white witch."

"So, what does color have to do with the fact that you're a Witch?" Dean asked confused.

"A white witch is someone who practices magic to help people, Dean," Delilah explained.

"A-And your here to help me?"

"Yes, Dean, your father saved my life a couple of years ago. It was one of those solo hunts he went on. A demon was after me he chased him through the woods after wrecking my house in the fight. I would have died that night if your father hadn't saved me."

"Really? Well, why didn't you just magic the demon away?" Dean questioned.

"The demon used an ancient spell that was created by dark witches to bind our magic so that we would be unable to use our magic and be an easy kill. Luckily, the demon didn't know about my combat skills. I ran as fast as I could into the woods before the demon tackled me to the ground. Your father performed an exorcism before the demon could kill me. Once the demon was gone the bind was broken, your father got me to safety, and I told him what I am and that I owed him my life. Your father called me here to help you, Dean, because he knows that your life is in danger."

Before Dean could say anything, they both felt a rumbling, and it soon intensifies.

"What is that?" Dean asked.

"It's time," Delilah said quietly enough for Dean not to hear her.

Dean goes to the door, and when he looks around the corridor, something transparent runs past him.

He looks back at Delilah, a little spooked, and says, "Did you see that?"

"Yes," She answered.

Dean runs out of the room, and Delilah follows him, they tun down the hall after it. As they passed a room, it came out of it. They turned around and saw the transparent creature go into another room.

Dean and Delilah went to the room and saw a woman lying on the floor gasping for air.

"Hey! I need some help in here!" Dean calls out but no one hears him.

"I can't breathe," The woman manages to say while gasping.

Dean kneels to the floor, trying to figure out what he could do, but then the woman stops breathing.

Dean looks at Delilah, "Can't you do something?"

"There's nothing I can do now."

"Why?!"

"Because she's dead, Dean. Her soul has already left this world," Delilah told him.

Dean leans over the woman, looking helplessly, before he and Delilah left the woman and went to his Father's room, with John in bed. Not long after they got there, Sam arrived with a duffle bag.

"Sammy, tell me you can freaking hear me, Man," Dean said trying to talk to Sam as he walked past him and looked out the window, "There's something in the hospital. Now, you got to bring me back, and we got to hunt this thing. Sam!"

"You're quiet," John pointed out to Sam.

Sam turns around with anger on his face. He put the duffle bag on the bed and asks, "You think I wouldn't find out?"

"What are you talking about?" John asked.

"That stuff from Bobby. You don't use it to ward off a demon- you use it to summon one. You're planning on bringing the demon here, aren't you? Having some stupid macho showdown!" Sam yelled at his father.

"I have a plan, Sam" John told him.

"That's exactly my point! Dean is dying, and you have a plan! You know what, you care more about killing this demon than you do saving your own son!"

"Come on guys, don't do this!" Dean told them.

"It won't work, Dean. They can't hear you," Delilah reminded him.

"Do not tell me how I fell! I am doing this for Dean," John told Sam.

"How? How is revenge going to help him?" Sam asked," You're not thinking about anybody but yourself,

"You know, it's funny, I thought it was your obsession too! This demon killed your mother, killed your girlfriend. You begged me to be part of this hunt," John reminded him, "Now if you'd killed that damn thing when you had the chance, none of this would have happened."

"It was possessing you, Dad, I would have killed you too," Sam argued.

"Yeah, and your brother would be awake right now."

"Shut up, both of you!" Dean yelled.

"They can't hear you, Dean," Delilah reminded him again.

"Go to hell," Sam said.

"I should have never taken you along in the first place. I knew it was a mistake, I knew I was wrong — "

"I said SHUT UP!" Dean smacks a glass of water off the table and it goes flying, crashing to the floor. Beat. Sam and John look at each other, confused, Dean look stunned.

"Dude, I full-on Swayze'd that mother," Dean smiled. Suddenly, he crumples in pain, flickering. Nurses and Doctors start running by in the hallway, "What is it?"

"Death," Delilah answered.

"Something's going on out there," John said. He jerks his head indicating "Go find out" to Sam.

Sam, Dean, and Delilah rush to Dean's room and in it, the monitors are beeping, a Doctor and some nurses are surrounding Dean, resuscitating him.

"All clear," The doctor announced before shocking Dean with the defibrillator.

No," Sam said huddling in the doorway, tears in his eyes.

"Still no pulse," The nurse informs.

"Okay, let's go again, 360."

"Charging," The nurse amplifies the defibrillator.

The doctor puts the pads back on Dean, "All clear."

"Clear," The nurse said. The doctor shocks Dean, but he is still flatlining, "No pulse."

"Let's go again. All clear," The doctor shocked Dean again.

Dean and Delilah walk slowly, standing behind Sam. They see a ghostly figure floating over Dean's body lying in the bed.

"You get the hell away from me. Stay back!" Dean runs to the bed and faces the thing down, yelling, "I said get back!"

Sam blinks, looks confused, as if he's heard something. Dean grabs for the spirit; he latches on momentarily before it hurls him back and then soars out of the room. The monitors slow, quiet.

"We have a pulse. We're back into sinus rhythm," The nurse announced.

Delilah follows Dean out of the room, trying to find the spirit. Dean looks around, but the spirit has vanished. Delilah leads Dean back to Sam and stands by him.

"Don't worry, Sammy. I'm not going anywhere," Dean reassures him. "I'm getting that thing before it gets me. It's some kind of spirit, but I could grab it. And if I can grab it, I can kill it."

Sam looks over to where Dean was and looks confused. Dean and Delilah wander the halls, then hears a girl yelling.

"Can't you see me?! Why won't you look at me?!"

"Now what?" Dean asked before he and Delilah following the sound of the woman's voice.

"Somebody talk to me! Say something, please!"

Dean and Delilah see a young woman, in a hospital outfit like Dean's, on the stairs and pleading with anyone to hear her.

"Can you see me?" Dean asked. The young woman turns around to Dean and Delilah. When Delilah saw the woman's face, she realized who she was and what she was doing. The energy of the woman was something Delilah was familiar with.

"Yeah," The young woman answered.

Dean and Delilah walked up the stairs to the young woman and Dean says, "All right, just calm down. What's your name?"

"Tessa," She answered.

"Okay, good, Tessa. I'm Dean and this is Delilah," Dean introduced.

"What's happening to me? Am I- Am I dead?"

"That sort of depends," Dean answered cryptically.

Tessa takes Dean and Delilah to her room and in it, her body is lying on the bed and her mother is sitting beside her.

"I don't understand. I just came in for an Appendectomy," Tessa told them.

"I hate to bear bad news, but… I think there were some complications," Dean said.

"It's just a dream, that's all. It's just a very weird, unbelievably vivid dream."

"Denial. I'm sorry Tessa, but this is not a dream," Delilah told her.

"Then what else could it be?" She asked.

"You ever heard of an out of body experience?" Dean asked her.

"What are you, some new agey guy?" Tessa asked him.

"You see me messing with crystals or listening to Yanni? It's actually a very old idea. Got a lot of different names: Bilocation, crisis apparition, fetches... I think it's happening to us. And if it is, it means that we're spirits of people close to death."

"So we're going to die?" Tessa asked him.

"No. Not if we hold on. Our bodies can get better, we can snap right back in there and wake up," Dean told her.

"So, how did you end up here? And why are you not wearing hospital clothes, like me and Dean?" Tessa asked Delilah.

"I used my magic to turn my physical form into my astral form. I was called in by Dean's father to help him," Delilah answered.

"That's very nice of you," Tessa said.

Dean, Delilah, and Tessa walked away from Tessa's room and down the hall.

"I gotta say, I'm impressed," Dean said.

"With what?" Tessa asked him.

"With you. Most people in your spot would be jello right now, but uh, you're taking this pretty well. Maybe a little better than me," Dean told her.

"Don't get me wrong. I was pretty freaked at first. But now, I don't know. Maybe I'm dealing.

"So you're okay with dying?"

"No, of course not. I just think, whatever's gonna happens is gonna happen. It's out of my control, it's just fate."

"Huh. Well, that's crap. You always have a choice. You can either roll over and die or you can keep fighting, no matter what-"

Dean was abruptly cut off by a woman on the PA, "Room 237, code blue. Dr. Kripke to room 237, code blue."

"Where are you going?" Tessa asked them.

"Just wait here," Dean replied.

Dean and Delilah ran down the hallway to another room in crisis. The Same spirit is hovering over a little girl, who is being resuscitated. It reaches a hand into her face.

"Get away from her!" Dean lunges at the spirit, which vanishes. The nurses stop resuscitation.

"All right, let's call it," A male doctor said.

"Time of death, five-eleven p.m," A female doctor announced.

"Nurse: At least she's not suffering anymore," The nurse said.

Dean looked stunned and was pulled out of his trace when Delilah gently pulled on his arm and they left the room. Later on that day, Dean and Delilah watch as Sam enters the room quietly, clutching a brown paper bag in his arms.

"Hey. I think maybe you're around. And if you are, don't make fun of me for this, but um, well, there's one way we can talk," Sam said before pulling out a box labeled "Mystical Talking Board".

Dean and Delilah are now behind him, Dean has his arms folded.

"Oh, you've gotta be kidding me."

Sam circles around the bed and sits cross-legged on the floor. He opens the box and pulls out the board.

"Dean? Dean, are you here?" Sam asked.

"God, I feel like I'm at a slumber party," he sits opposite Sam in front of the board, "All right, Sam. This isn't going to work," Dean said skeptically.

Sam has his hands poised on the pointer. Dean places his fingers on it and slowly, concentrating. slides it to "YES" on the board. Sam gasps.

"I'll be damned."

"It's good to hear from you, man," Sam said as he laughed in relief, "It hasn't been the same without you, Dean."

"Damn straight," Dean places his fingers on the pointer again and starts sliding it.

"Dean, what? H? U? Hunt? Hunting? What, are you hunting?" Sam asked.

The pointer slides back to "YES"

"It's in the hospital, what you're hunting? Do, do you know what it is?"

"One question at a time, dude," Dean told Sam. Dean looks over Sam's shoulder to Delilah, "Hey, can you help me out here? I feel kinda ridiculous sitting here playing with Ouija board."

Delilah nodded before moving to the doorway and made her astral form into her physical form. She watched from the doorway as Sam waited for Dean to answer him.

"Hi, Sam," Deiliah greeted.

Sam looked at her and then back at the Oujia board, and then back at Delilah, "I-I was trying to see if I can talk with my brother, but these things don't really work, you know."

"Sam, I know what's going on. Your father asked me to come here and help Dean," She told him.

Sam stood up and kept his eye on her, "How do I know your not lying or a demon?"

Delilah looked at Dean, "Dean, is there anything you can tell me? Something that only you and Sam would know?"

"We carved our initials on the rear window deck in the Impala when we were kids," He told her.

Delilah looked at Sam, "When you and Dean were kids you carved your Initials on the rear window deck of the Impala."

Sam relaxes a bit, "You can see Dean?"

"Yes, Sam. That's one of the reasons your father asked me to come here."

"What's the other reason?"

"The thing that your father was afraid of happening. What Dean is hunting," She replied.

"What is it?" Sam asked.

"Tell him; I don't think it's killing people. I think it's taking them. You know, when their time's just up," Dean said.

"Dean said that he doesn't think it's killing people. He thinks it's taking them. When their time is up," Delilah told Sam.

"A reaper. Dean. Is it after you?"

"Yes," Dean said.

"Yes," Delilah repeated.

"If it's here naturally, there's no way to stop it," Sam said.

"Yeah, you can't kill death," Dean said.

"Man, you're, um, " Sam began.

"I'm screwed, Sam."

"He said he's screwed," Delilah repeated.

"No. No, no, no, um, there's gotta be a way," Sam begins to pace.

"I'm sorry, Sam, but there isn't," Delilah told him.

There's gotta be a way. Dad'll know what to do," Sam leaves.

Delilah then felt something dark and teleported to what looked like the hospital's boiler room. She saw John on the floor drawing a large symbol.

"John, what the hell are you doing?" She asked.

"Doing what I can to save my son," John answered.

Delilah saw the symbol on the ground and knew what he was doing.

"And do you think this is the best way to do it?"

"It's the only way to do it. You know there's no other way to save Dean," John looked up from the symbol and at Delilah, "Are you going to stop me?"

"No, because I know that if I try anything to stop you "No because I know that if I try anything to stop you, you would find a spell or something to stop me," Delilah replied, "I can only wish you luck."

Delilah teleported back to Dean's room.

"Where did you go?" Dean asked.

"I left to see if I could find the reaper?" She lied.

Sam returns carrying the journal. He sits on the edge of Dean's bed.

"Hey. So Dad wasn't in his room," Sam said.

"Where is he?" Dean asked.

"He asked where is he?" Delilah repeated.

"I don't know but I got his journal, so who knows? Maybe there's something here," Sam answered.

Sam flips open the journal and goes through it, glancing up at Dean's unconscious form occasionally. Dean comes to stand behind him.

"Thanks for not giving up on me, Sammy," Dean said.

"He said he's grateful for not giving up on him," Delilah told Sam.

"I know he would do the same for me," Sam turns to a page that says "Reapers", Dean leans over and reads something. His eyes go wide.

"Son of a bitch," Dean leaves, and Delilah follows him, he stalked down the hallway until he sees Tessa is sitting on the edge of the bed and dressed differently.

"Hi, Dean. Hi, Delilah," Tessa greeted.

"You know, you read the most interesting things," Dean walks into the room, "For example, did you know that reapers can alter human perception? I sure didn't. Basically, they can make themselves appear however they want. Like, say, a, a pretty girl. You're much prettier than the last reaper I met."

"I was wondering when you would figure it out," She said.

I should have known. That whole "accepting fate" rap of yours is far too laid back for a dead chick. But the mother, and the body, I'm still trying to figure that one out."

"It's my sandbox, I can make you see whatever I want."

"What, is this like a turn-on for you? What, toying with me?" Dean asked, sounding annoyed.

"You didn't give me much choice. You saw my true form and you flipped out. Kinda hurts a girl's feelings. This was the only way I could get you to talk to me," Tessa explained.

"Okay, fine. We're talking. What the hell do you want to talk about?"

"How death is nothing to fear," Tessa puts her hand on his cheek, "It's your time to go, Dean. And you're living on borrowed time already."

Dean stares out a dark window, "Look, I'm sure you've heard this before, but... you've gotta make an exception, you've gotta cut me a break."

"Stage three: bargaining."

Dean turns to her, "I'm serious. My family's in danger. See, we're kind of in the middle of this, um, war, and they need me."

"The fight's over."

"No, it isn't."

"It is for you. Dean. You're not the first soldier I've plucked from the field. They all feel the Same. They can't leave. Victory hangs in the balance. But they're wrong. The battle goes on without them."

"My brother. He could die without me."

"Maybe he will, maybe he won't. Nothing you can do about it. It's an honorable death. A warrior's death."

"I think I'll pass on the seventy-two virgins, thanks. I'm not that into prude chicks anyway."

"That's funny. You're very cute."

"There's no such thing as an honorable death. My corpse is going to rot in the ground and my family is going to die! No. I'm not going with you, I don't care what you do."

"Well, like you said. There's always a choice. I can't make you come with me. But you're not getting back in your body. And that's just facts. So yes, you can stay. You'll stay here for years. Disembodied, scared, and over the decades it'll probably drive you mad. Maybe you'll even get violent."

"What are you saying?"

"Dean. How do you think angry spirits are born? They can't let go and they can't move on. And you're about to become one. The same thing you hunt."

"She's right, Dean," Delilah told him.

Dean sits on the bed and Tessa behind him. She strokes his hair tenderly.

"It's time to put the pain behind you," Tessa told him.

"And go where?" Dean asked.

"Sorry. I can't give away the big punchline. Moment of truth. No changing your mind later. So what's it going to be?" She asked.

As Dean turns to look at her, the lights start flickering, a familiar buzzing starts.

"What are you doing that for?" Dean asked.

"I'm not doing it. "

They both turn to a vent in the floor and see black demon ichor pour out of it.

"What the hell?"

"You can't do this! Get away!"

"What's happening?!" Dean asked.

"Something evil," Delilah answered in a whisper.

Tessa screams as the demon flows into her mouth. She turns, eyes glowing yellow, "Today's your lucky day, kid." She places a hand on Dean's forehead and he convulses. Dean's spirit disappears and Tessa looks at Delilah.

"He made a deal, didn't he?" Delilah asked.

"He did," She confirmed.

"The Winchesters will stop at nothing to kill you now," Delilah said before teleporting to Dean's Room.

Sam is still sitting on the bed as Dean gasps, waking suddenly and choking on the tube in his throat.

"Dean? Help! I need help!" Sam shouts into the hallway.

A team of Doctors and Nurses rush in and take the tube out of Dean's throat. A while later after Dean had gotten some tests done, the doctor that was handling his case came in.

"I can't explain it. The edema's vanished. The internal contusions are healed. Your vitals are good. You have some kind of angel watching over you," The Doctor told Dean.

"Thanks, doc, "The Doctor leaves; Dean turns to Sam. "So you said a Reaper was after me?"

"Yeah," Sam confirmed.

"How'd I ditch it?" Dean asked.

"You got me. Delilah, do you know?" Sam asked her.

"A deal was made, but don't worry, it didn't cost much, " Delilah told him.

"Dean, you really don't remember anything? Not even Delilah? She was looking after you while you were a spirit"

"No. Except this pit in my stomach. Sam, something's wrong."

A knock at the door and they see John hovering in the doorway.

"How you feeling, dude?" John asked.

"Fine, I guess. I'm alive," Dean answered.

"That's what matters."

"Where were you last night?" Sam asked with anger in his voice.

"I had some things to take care off," John replied.

"Well, that's specific.

"Come on, Sam," Dean said.

"Did you go after the demon?" Sam asked.

"No," John answered, but Delilah knew he was lying.

"You know, why don't I believe you right now?"

"Can we not fight?" John pleaded, " You know, half the time we're fighting, I don't know what we're fighting about. We're just butting heads. Sammy, I, I've made some mistakes. But I've always done the best I could. I just don't want to fight anymore, okay?"

"Dad, are you all right?" Sam asked with concern.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm just a little tired. Hey, son, would you, uh, would you mind getting me a cup of caffeine?"

"Yeah. Yeah, sure," Sam leaves the room,still frowning.

John looks after him sadly.

"What is it?" Dean asked his father.

John walks to Dean, "You know, when you were a kid, I'd come home from a hunt, and after what I'd seen, I'd be, I'd be wrecked. And you, you'd come up to me and you, you'd put your hand on my shoulder and you'd look me in the eye and you'd... You'd say "It's okay, Dad". Dean, I'm sorry."

"Why?" Dean asked.

"You shouldn't have had to say that to me, I should have been saying that to you. You know, I put, I put too much on your shoulders, I made you grow up too fast. You took care of Sammy, you took care of me. You did that, and you didn't complain, not once. I just want you to know that I am so proud of you."

"This really you talking?"

"Yeah. Yeah, it's really me," John replied, smiling.

"Why are you saying this stuff?"

John comes closer, puts a hand on Dean's shoulder.

" I want you to watch out for Sammy, okay?"

"Yeah, dad, you know I will," Dean promised him, "You're scaring me."

"Don't be scared, Dean."

John leans over and whispers something into Dean's ear. Dean pulls back in shock, processing. John leaves, and Dean stares after him. John enters a bedroom and places the colt on a small bed table.

"Okay," John sighed. He looks up at the man standing in front of him.

The man smiles before his eyes turn yellow, "Good. Let's end this," Azezel holds out his hand.

"But, I have one condition, if anyone or thing is going to end it. It'll be Delilah because I'm not gonna give you the satisfaction of killing me," John told the demon.

Azeazl's smile drops, "Oh, this should be interesting."

"Delilah, can you come here?"

A moment later, Delilah appeared in the room. She looked between John and Azazel before her eyes landed on John.

"It's time, isn't it?" She asked.

"Yes," John confirmed.

Delilah walks to John and places her hand on his cheek, "I promise this won't hurt," She leans into his ear, "Never stop fighting them, John," she pulls back.

"Look after my boys for me?" John asked.

"I will," Delilah promised.

John took one last breath and closed his eyes. A second later, he was lying on the floor.

Sam walks back to the room carrying a cup of coffee. He looks into a room and sees John on the floor. Azazel, Delilah, and the colt were gone.

"Dad?" Sam drops the cup and runs to his father's side, kneeling over him and screaming for help.

Once again, a crowd of Doctors and nurses attempt resuscitation, this time on John. Sam and Delilah help Dean to the room. They in the doorway, and a nurse tries to push them out.

"No, no, no, it's our dad. It's our dad!" Dean pleaded. He, Sam, and Delilah watch as they try to resuscitate John, "Come on."

"Okay, stop compressions," The doctor said. Everyone in the room stopped at the moment and a nurse checks John's neck for a pulse.

"Come on, come on," Dean pleaded as they watched the monitor and hoped for a heart beat.

"Still no pulse," The nurse said.

"Okay, that's it everybody. I'll call it. Time of death: 10:41 am," The doctor announced.


	2. Everybody Loves a Clown

Sam, Dean, and Delilah stand beside each other as they watch John's wrapped remains burn on a funeral pyre, a hunter's funeral. Sam is near tears and fidgeting, Dean stares into the flames silently, and Delilah prays in her head that John stays strong.

"Before he. . . before, did he say anything to you? About anything?" Sam asked his brother.

Dean, without looking at sam and a lump in his throat, answers, "No. Nothing."

A week later, in Bobby's scrapyard, Dean is underneath the Impala working on it, only his legs sticking out. Sam and Delilah approach him.

"How's the car coming along?" Sam asked.

"Slow."

"Yeah? Need any help?"

Dean drops something heavy, " What, you under a hood? I'll pass.

"Need anything else, then?" Sam asked.

Dean pushes himself out from under the car and stands, "Stop it, Sam."

"Stop what?"

"Stop asking if I need anything, stop asking if I'm okay. I'm okay. Really. I promise," Dean told him.

"All right, Dean, it's just... We've been at Bobby's for over a week now and you haven't brought up Dad once," Sam said.

"You know what? You're right. Come here. I'm gonna lay my head gently on your shoulder. Maybe we can cry, hug, and maybe even slow dance," Dean said, a little annoyed.

"Don't patronize me, Dean, Dad is dead. The Colt is gone, and it seems pretty damn likely that the demon is behind all of this, and you're acting like nothing happened."

"What do you want me to say?"

"Say something, all right? Hell, say anything! Aren't you angry? Don't you want revenge?" Sam asked Dean, "But all you do is sit out here all day long-buried underneath this damn car."

"Revenge, huh?

"Yeah."

"Sounds good. You got any leads on where the demon is? Making heads or tails of any of Dad's research? Because I sure ain't. But you know, if we do finally find it - oh. No, wait, like you said. The Colt's gone. But I'm sure you've figured out another way to kill it. We've got nothing, Sam. Nothing, okay? And Sabrina here isn't much help. So you know the only thing I can do? Is I can work on the car," Dean said before he crouches by the car again, getting back to work.

"Stage 2: Anger," Delilah muttered.

"Well, we've got something, all right?" Sam pulls out a cell phone, "It's what I came by here to tell you. This is one of dad's old phones. Took me a while, but I cracked his voicemail code. Listen to this,"

Sam hands the cell phone to Dean, who stands and takes it reluctantly. Dean hits play and hold it up to his ear.

"it's Ellen. Again. Look, don't be stubborn, you know I can help you. Call me."

"That message is four months old," Sam told Dean.

"Dad saved that chick's message for four months?" He questioned.

"Yeah."

"Well, who's Ellen? Any mention of her in Dad's journal?" Dean asked.

"No. But I ran a trace on her phone number and I got an address," Sam replied.

"Delilah, do you know Ellen?"

"No, John knew that I liked my privacy. So, he didn't introduce or talk about me to his hunter buddies, but if he trusted them enough, he would tell them about me," She answered.

"Ask Bobby if we can use one of his cars," Dean told Sam.

* * *

After Sam had gotten a car from Bobby, one Dean was not happy about, was a beat-up, poorly maintained minivan. They drove to Ellen's address, which appeared to be an abandoned roadhouse in the middle of nowhere.

"This is humiliating. I feel like a friggin' soccer mom!" Dean complied as they pulled up to the Roadhouse.

"It's the only car Bobby had running," Sam told him.

"Yeah, and it was this, or I could have teleported us, but then there are the dangers we would have to consider," Delilah said.

The three got out of the minivan and started looking around.

"Hello? Anybody here?" Dean looked through a window but saw no one. He turned to Sam, "Hey, did you bring the?"

"Of course," Sam tosses him a lock picking kit.

Dean starts to work on the lock when Delilah says, "You know, I can open that jar of pickles for you."

"Well, sometimes I like to do things the old fashion way," He told her.

Delilah rolled her eyes before snapping her fingers. The door was unlocked. "Your welcome."

Dean looked at her and said, "I loosened it for you."

Dean opened the door, and they went inside. When they entered the Roadhouse, it was quiet, except for the occasional sound of a fly getting zapped by the bug zapper.

They looked around and saw no one, except a man passed out on the pool table.

"Hey, Buddy?" Sam paused, "I'm guessing that isn't Ellen."

"Yeah, "Dean agreed.

Sam goes into a back room, looking around. Delilah steps up to the pool table and puts two fingers on the man's neck, "He's alive."

Dean goes down the steps, then pauses as he feels the point of a gun touch his back.

"Oh god, please let that be a rifle," Dean hoped.

Delilah turns around and sees a blond girl pressing a gun against Dean's lower back.

She cocks the gun, "No, I'm just really happy to see you. Both of you don't move."

"Not moving, copy that. You know, you should know something, miss. When you put a rifle on someone, you don't want to put it right against their back. Because it makes it real easy to do... " Dean turns fluidly, grabbing the rifle and cocking it, "That."

The girl punches him in the face and takes the rifle back.

Dean doubles over, clutching his nose, "Delilah! Sam! Need some help in here. I can't see, I can't even see," He muttered.

The back door opens to reveal Sam, both hands on his head, entering the room slowing.

"Sorry, Dean, I can't right now. I'm a...little tied up," Sam nods his head to the woman behind him with a handgun pointed at his head.

"Sam? Dean? Winchester?" The woman asked.

"Yeah," Sam and Dean answered simultaneously.

"Son of a bitch," She said.

"Mom, you know these guys?" The girl asked.

"Yeah, I think these are John Winchester's boys," The woman lowers her gun, laughing, "Hey, I'm Ellen. This is my daughter Jo."

Jo then lowers her rifle, and Dean smiles at her, and she says, "Hey."

"You're not gonna hit me again, are you?" He asked.

Ellen looks over at Delilah and asks, "Who are you?"

"I'm Delilah. John saved my life a couple of years ago. I owed him, so he called me a few days ago when Dean was in a coma, and I helped him out," She answered.

"How did you helped out?"

"I'll tell you if you promise not to shoot me," Ellen and Jo put their guns aside before Delilah continued, "I'm able to see and talk to the dead, I'm also a witch, but I practice white magic. Instead of harming the innocent, I protect them."

"Why should we believe or even trust you?" Ellen asked.

"John did. He saved my life from a demon, and if he wasn't there who knows what that demon would have done to me. And besides, his sons, haven't killed me yet," Delilah reasoned.

"Okay," Ellen then got a towel and filled it with ice before handing it to Dean. "Here you go."

"Thanks. You called out dad, said you could help. Help with what?" Dean asked.

"Well, the demon, of course. I heard he was closing in on it," Ellen replied.

"What was there an article in the Demon Hunters Quarterly that I missed? I mean, who, who are you? How do you know about all this?" Dean asked Ellen.

"Hey, I just sun a saloon. But hunters have been known to pass through now and again. Including your dad a long time ago. John was like family once," She replied.

"Oh yeah? How come he never mentioned you before?"

"You'd have to ask him that," Ellen told Dean.

"So why exactly do we need your help?" He asked.

"Hey, don't do me any favors. Look, if you don't want my help, dine. Don't let the door smack your ass on the way out. But John wouldn't have sent you if..." Ellen stops and realizes, "He didn't send you."

Sam and Dean looked down before looking at each other.

"He's all right, isn't he?" Ellen asked.

There was a moment of silence before Sam answered, "No. No, he isn't. It was the demon, we think."

Delilah looked down and wiped her eyes before a tear could form.

"It just got him before he got it, I guess."

Ellen stood there in shock, "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay. We're all right," Dean told her.

"Reall, I know how close you and your dad-"

"Really, lady, I'm fine," Dean interrupted Ellen, getting a little annoyed.

Dean and Ellen glared at each other causing somewhat of awkward silence.

"So look, if you can help, we could use all the help we can get," Sam said.

"Well, we can't. But Ash will," Ellen told them.

"Who's Ash?" Sam asked.

"Ash!"

Everyone turns their attention when the man passed out on the pool table jerks awake and sits up, looking around," What? Closing time?"

Sam looks at Ellen and Jo, and points to Ash, "That's Ash?"

"Mm-hmm," Jo confirmed, "He's a genius."

Ellen helps Ash off the pool table and walked him over to behind the bar before introducing him to Sam, Dean, and Delilah. They told him about what happened and why they are here before Ellen left.

Sam slapped a brown folder on the bar; he, Delilah, and Ash sit while Dean is standing behind them and Jo is on the other side of the bar pouring glasses of water.

"You've gotta be kidding me, this guy's no genius. He's a Lynyrd Skynyrd roadie," Dean said in doubt of Ash.

"I like you," Ash said.

"Thanks."

"Just give him a chance," Jo told Dean.

"I agree with Jo, Dean. If you want to do it, but all means go ahead," Delilah told him.

Dean sits down and opens the folder, "All right. This stuff's about a year's worth of our dad's work, so uh, let's see what you make of it."

Ash pulls out the papers and starts rifling through them. He shakes his head, "Come on. This crap ain't real. There ain't nobody can track a demon like this."

"Our dad could," Sam said.

"There are non-parametrics, statistical overviews, prospects and correlations, I mean.. damn! They're signs. Omens. Uh, if you can track 'em, you can track this demon. You know, like crop failures, electrical storms... You ever been struck by lightning? It ain't fun," Ash explained.

"Can you track it or not?" Sam asked him.

"Yeah, with this, I think so. But it's gonna take time, uh, give me... fifty-one hours," Ash gets up to leave.

"Hey, man?"

"Yeah." Ash stopped and turned to Dean.

"I, uh, I dig the haircut," Dean said.

"All business up front, party in the back," As he leaves, Jo walks by, flirting a little with Dean. He checks her out tiredly, then gets up to follow her.

Sam sees something behind the bar, "Hey, Ellen, what is that?"

"It's a police scanner. We keep tabs on things, we…" Ellen explained but Sam interrupted her.

"No, no, no, no, the, um, the folder."

"Uh, I was gonna give this to a friend of mine. But take a look, if you want," Ellen takes a folder from the wall and places it in front of the Same. It has some newspaper clippings attached to the front, and on the front, in red marker: COUPLE MURDERED CHILD LEFT ALIVE MEDFORD, WISC. Sam and Delilah look through what's in the folder and found some interesting things.

"Dean, come here, check this out," Sam called.

Dean got up from the seat at a table and walked over, "Yeah."

"A few murders, not far from here, that Ellen caught wind of. Looks to me like there might be a hunt."

"Yeah. So?" Dean asked.

"So, Sam told her we'd check it out," Delilah told him.

In the minivan, Dean and Sam drive. It's raining and dark; Sam has the research open in his lap.

"You've gotta be kidding me. A killer clown?" Dean questioned.

"Yeah. He left the daughter unharmed and killed the parents. Ripped them to pieces, actually," Sam informed.

"And this family was at some carnival that night?" Dean asked,

"Right, right. The, uh, Cooper Carnivals."

"So how do you know we're not dealing with some psycho carnie in a clown suit?"

"Well, the cops have no viable leads, and all the employees were tearing down shop. Alibis all around. Plus this girl said she saw a clown vanish into thin air. Cops are saying trauma, of course," Sam answered Dean.

"Well, I know what you're thinking, Sam. Why did it have to be clowns?" Dean asked amused.

"Oh, give me a break," Sam said.

"This should be good," Delilah smiled.

"Sammy is afraid of clowns, " Dean told Delilah before saying to Sam, "You didn't think I'd remember, did you? I mean, come on, you still bust out crying whenever you see Ronald McDonald on the television."

"Well, at least I'm not afraid of flying," Sam shot back.

"Planes crash!" Dean exclaimed.

"And apparently clowns kill!" Sam retorted.

"Have these murders happen before," Delilah asked Sam.

"Uh, according to the file, 1981, the Bunker Brothers Circus, Same M.O. It happened three times, three different locales," He answered.

"It's weird, though, I'm mean if it is a spirit it's usually bound to a specific locale, you know, a house, or a town," Dean said.

"So how's this one moving from city to city, carnival to carnival?" Sam questioned.

"Cursed object, maybe. Spirit attaches itself to something and the, uh, carnival carries it around with them," Dean told Sam.

"Great. Paranormal scavenger hunt," Sam groaned.

"Well, this case was your idea. By the way, why is that?" Dean questioned Sam, "You were awfully quick to jump on this job."

"So?"

"It's just... not like you, that's all. I thought you were hell-bent for leather on the demon hunt," Dean told him.

"I don't know, I just think, this job, it's what Dad would have wanted us to do," Sam said.

"What Dad would have wanted?" Dean questioned.

"Yeah. So?" He asked.

"Nothin'," Dean replied to Sam and continued driving.

By noon, the three reached the carnival. They see what appears to be Detectives talking to some carnies.

"Check it out. Five-oh," Dean pointed out to Sam and Delilah.

While Dean gets some information, Deliah stands with Sam, who has his hands in his pockets, as a three-foot-tall woman in a clown outfit passes them. He stares at her, nervous, and she stares back before moving on.

Dean walks over and asks, "Did you get her number?"

"More murders?" Sam scowled.

"Two more last night," He replied, "Apparently they were ripped to shreds. And they had a little boy with them."

"Who fingered a clown," Dean pauses, giving Sam a weird look, "What?"

"Yeah, a clown, who apparently vanished into thin air," Dean said.

"Dean, you know, looking for a cursed object is like trying to find a needle in a stack of needles. They could be anything."

"Well, it's bound to give off EMF, so we'll just have to scan everything."

"Oh, good, that's nice and... inconspicuous," Sam said.

Dean sees a "Help wanted... S. Cooper" sign, "I guess we'll just have to blend in."

They walk into a tent and see a man throwing knives at a target; they all land near but not quite on bulls-eye.

"Excuse me, we're looking for a Mr. Cooper, have you seen him around?" Dean asked.

"What is that, some kind of joke?" The man pulls off his sunglasses; he's blind.

"Oh. God, I'm, I'm sorry," Dean tried to apologize.

"You think I wouldn't give my eyeteeth to see Mr. Cooper? Or a sunset, or anything at all?" The blind asked in an aggressive tone.

"Wanna give me a little help here?" Dean asked Sam quietly.

"Not really," Sam replied.

"Hey man, is there a problem?"

Dean turns then look down to see an extremely short man in a red cape.

"Yeah, this guy hates blind people," The blind man told the short man.

"No, I don't, I…' Dean tried to explain but was interrupted by the short man.

"Hey, buddy, what's your problem?"

"Nothing, it's just a little misunderstanding."

"Little?!" The short man responded angrily, "You son of a bitch!"

Delilah decided to step in at this moment and said, "Listen, my friend here didn't mean to offend anyone. He didn't know you are blind and he didn't mean any by your body size when he said "little." Now, can you gentlemen please tell us where we can find ?"

* * *

Once they found Mr. Cooper, He leads them to his office in one of the trailers.

"You boys picked a hell of a time to join up. Take a seat," Mr. Cooper said as he took a seat behind his desk.

Dean looks at the available chairs; one is normal, the other is pink, with a giant clown face on it. He beats Sam to the normal chair. Sam scowls, fidgeting before sitting gingerly in the clown chair.

"We've got all kinds of local trouble," Mr. Cooper told them.

"What do you mean?" Dean questioned.

"Oh, a couple of folks got themselves murdered. Cops always seem to start here first," Mr. Cooper explained before asking them, "So, you three ever worked the circuit before?"

"Yes sir, last year through Texas and Arkansas," Sam replied.

"Yeah," Dean agreed.

"Doing what? Ride jockeys? Butcher? ANS men?" Mr. Cooper asked them.

"Yeah, it's, uh, a little bit of everything, I guess," Sam answered for himself and Dean.

"I've done danger and magic acts," Deliah answered for herself.

"You two have never worked a show in your lives before, have you?" Mr. Cooper asked Sam and Dean.

"Nope. But we really need the work. Oh, and uh, Sam here's got a thing for the bearded lady," Dean answered in a joking manner, annoying Sam.

"You see that picture?" Mr. Cooper points to a picture behind him on a filing cabinet, "That's my daddy."

"You look just like him," Sam pointed out.

"He was in the business. Ran a freakshow. Till they outlawed them, most places. Apparently displaying the deformed isn't dignified. So most of the performers went from honest work to rotting in hospitals and asylums. That's progress. I guess. You see, this place, it's a refuge for outcasts. Always has been. For folks that don't fit in nowhere else. When you've worked a long time in this business, you get good at spotting those who've been unwanted by everywhere they go. Your friend looks like she fits the bill. But you two? You should go to school. Find a couple of girls. Have two point five kids. Live regular," Mr. Cooper urged Sam and Dean.

Dean is about to say something, but Sam leans forward, eyes serious, "Sir? We don't want to go to school. And we don't want regular. We want this."

Dean and Delilah give Sam a look for what he just said to Mr. Cooper and knew something was up with him. A moment passed before Mr. Cooper then gave them jobs at the carnival. The three thanks him before leaving the trailer.

* * *

After leaving Mr. Cooper's trailer, the three began walking around.

"Huh," Dean said.

"What?" Sam asked.

"That whole, uh, I don't want to go back to school thing. Were you just saying that to Cooper or were you, you know, saying it? Sam?" Dean asked him.

"I don't know," Sam responded.

"You don't know? I thought that once the demon was dead and the fat lady sings that you were gonna take off, head back to Wussy State," He said.

"I'm having second thoughts," Sam replied.

"Really?" Dean asked surprised.

"Yeah. I think. Dad would have wanted me to stick with the job," Sam explained.

"Since when do you give a damn what Dad wanted?" Dean questioned, "You spent half your life doing exactly what he didn't want, Sam."

"Since he died, okay? Do you have a problem with that?" Sam asked annoyed and angrily.

"Naw, I don't have a problem at all," He replied calmly.

"Boys, we can deal with this later. Right now, we have a creature to hunt," Delilah told the two.

* * *

A bit later that day, Delilah is walking out of a tent wearing a black magician's jacket with a white shirt, white waist corset, black briefs, black bow tie, white gloves, black knee-high boots, a magician's hat, and fishnet tights after she had performed a series of dazzlings magic tricks for the audience inside the tent.

Delilah saw the blindman was talking to Dean and waited until the blindman was gone before walking to Dean.

"What was that about?" She asked.

"He overheard me talking to Sam and got suspicious, but I managed to get him to leave," Dean replied before he took notice of Deliah's outfit, "Nice look, Zatanna. I think I saw that in Busty Asain Beauties."

"Shut up, Dean," Delilah told him, "So, what were you and Sam talking about?"

"Sam said he found a skeleton in the found house and think its attached to its remains, not the carnival," He explained.

Delilah shrugged, "It's worth a shot. Come on."

Dean and Delilah approached Sam, who is waiting by the funhouse, and his eyes widen a bit when he saw Deliah's outfit.

"Don't ask," Delilah told Sam before he could ask her.

"What took you so long?" Sam asked them.

"Long story-," Dean began before they heard a little girl's voice.

"Mommy, look at the clown!"

Dean, Delilah, and Sam both look over to see a little girl pointing at something.

"What clown?" The mother asked. They look to where the little girl is pointing; there is nothing, "Come on, sweetie, come on."

Dean, Delilah, and Sam share a look.

* * *

That night, Dean, Delilah, and Sam are on stakeout outside the family's home.

"Dean, I cannot believe you told Papazian about the homicidal phantom clown," Sam said.

"I told him an urban legend about a homicidal phantom clown, I never said it was real." Dean explains before he pulls a gun and cocks it. Deliah grabs at it, pushing Dean's hands down.

"Keep that down!" Delilah exclaimed, "Do you want someone to call the cops on us before we even get in the house?"

"Oh, and get this. I mentioned the Bunker Brother's Circus in '81 and their, uh, evil clown apocalypse? Guess what," Dean said.

"What?" Sam asked.

"Before Mr. Cooper owned Cooper Carnival, he worked for Bunker Brothers. He was their lot manager," He told Sam and Delilah.

"So you think whatever the spirit's attached to, Cooper just brought it with him?" Sam asked.

"Something like that. I can't believe we keep talking about clowns," Dean said.

"With the weirdness that goes on in all of our lives this isn't are to believe," Delilah voiced.

* * *

A while later, Dean is dozing as a light goes on in the dining room. Sam shakes him awake. Inside, the little girl goes to the front door, where the phantom clown is waiting.

"Wanna come in and play?" The little girl asked.

The clown nods, takes her hand and is led the girl leads the clown down the hallway, Dean, Delilah, and Sam are already hiding in wait, weapons ready.

"Wanna see Mommy and Daddy?" She asked the Clown.

They're upstairs. Delilah leaps out and grabs the girl, who starts screaming, as Dean shoots the clown in the chest. It falls on its back, then gets up as Dean is cocking the shotgun again. It leaps out the window, turning invisible as it runs away. The parents come rushing out.

"What's going on out here?" The father asked.

"Oh my god, what are you doing to my daughter?!" The mother yelled in outrage.

Dean, Delilah, and Sam leave the girl and run away terribly fast.

"He shot my clown!" The little girl exclaimed.

* * *

In the morning, Dean, Delilah, and Sam have parked the minivan off the side of a backroad and are digging out their belongings, including the license plates.

"You really think they saw our plates?" Sam wondered.

"I don't want to take the chance. Besides, I hate this friggin' thing anyway," Dean complained about the minivan. They start walking down the road, "Well, one thing's for sure."

"What's that?

"We're not dealing with a spirit. I mean, that rock salt hit something solid," Dean explained.

"Yeah, a person? Or maybe a creature that can make itself invisible?" Sam wondered.

"Yeah, and dresses up as a clown for kicks? You see anything in Dad's journal?" He asked his brother.

"Nope."

"What about you, Delilah? You know anything that can turn invisible?"

"You have no idea how many things can turn themselves invisible, Dean," Delilah told him as Sam pulls out his cell phone.

"Who are you calling?" Dean asked.

"Maybe Ellen or that guy Ash'll know something," Sam responded, "Hey, you think, uh, you think Dad and Ellen ever had a thing?"

"No way," He answered.

"Then why didn't he tell us about her?" Sam wondered.

"I don't know, maybe they had some sort of falling out," Dean guessed.

"Yeah. You ever notice Dad had a falling out with just about everybody?" Sam asked. Dean nods casually; Sam lowers the phone, "Well, don't get all maudlin on me, man."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean this "strong silent" thing of yours, it's crap," Sam pointed out to his brother.

"Oh, god."

"I'm over it. This isn't just anyone we're talking about, this is Dad. I know how you felt about the man."

"You know what, back off, all right?" Dean yelled, "Just because I'm not caring and sharing like you want me to. "

"No, no, no, that's not what this is about, Dean. I don't care how you deal with this. But you have to deal with it, man. Listen, I'm your brother, all right? I just want to make sure you're okay," Sam tried to reason with Dean.

"Dude, I'm okay. I'm okay, okay? I swear, the next person who asks me if I'm okay, I'm going to start throwing punches. These are your issues, quit dumping them on me!" He yelled.

"What are you talking about?" Sam questioned.

"I just think it's really interesting, this sudden obedience you have to Dad. It's like, oh, what would Dad want me to do? Sam, you spent your entire life slugging it out with that man. I mean, hell, you, you picked a fight with him the last time you ever saw him. And now that he's dead, now you want to make it right? Well, I'm sorry Sam, but you can't, it's too little, too late. "

"Why are you saying this to me?"

"Because I want you to be honest with yourself about this. I'm dealing with Dad's death!" Dean yelled, "Are you?"

"Alright, boys! That is enough! We are dealing we some creature that can turn invisible, dresses like a clown, and eats parents. Can we deal with both of your bitching after we will it?!" Delilah exclaimed, fed up with Sam and Dean's arguing.

"I'm going to call Ellen," Sam said before dialing the number.

* * *

While later, further down the road, Sam is talking to Ellen on the phone.

"Thanks," He said before hanging up and saying to Delilah and Dean, "Rakshasa."

"What's that?" Dean asked.

"Ellen's best gues," Sam replied.

"I remember reading about those. It's a race of ancient Hindu creatures, they can appear in human form, they feed on human flesh, and they can make themselves invisible, but they cannot enter a home without first being invited," Deliah informed them.

"So they dress up like clowns, and the children invite them in," Dean said.

"Yeah," Sam confirmed.

"Why don't they just munch on the kids?" He questioned.

"No idea. Not enough meat on the bones, maybe?"

"What else'd you find out?"

"Well, apparently, Rakshasas live in squalor. They sleep on a bed of dead insects," Sam informed.

"Nice," Dean commented.

"Yeah, and they have to feed a few times every twenty or thirty years. Slow metabolism, I guess," He added.

"Well, that makes sense. I mean, the Carnival today, the Bunker Brothers' in '81."

"Right," Sam agreed, "Probably more before that."

"Hey Sam, who do we know that worked both shows?" Dean asked.

"Cooper?" Sam and Delilah guessed.

"Cooper," He confirmed.

"You know, that picture of his father, that looked just like him," Sam mentioned.

"You think maybe it was him?" Dean asked him.

"Well, who knows how old he is?"

"You know how to kill them, Delilah?" Dean asked her.

"If I remember the Legend correctly, a dagger made of pure brass," She answered.

"I think I know where to get one of those."

"Well, before we go stabbing things into Cooper, we're going to want to make damn sure it's him," Sam advised Dean.

"Oh, you're such a stickler for details, Sammy. All right, Delilah and I'll round up the blade, you go check if Cooper's got bedbugs," Dean told Sam.

* * *

That night at the Carnival, the Blind Man is leading Dean and Delilah.

"Well, I've got all kinds of knives. I don't know if I've got a brass one, though," The blind man leads Dean and Delilah in his room and taps a trunk with his cane, "Check the trunk."

Dean opens the trunk and finds a red clown wig. He pauses, stands, "You?"

Blind Man drops his cane, pulls off his glasses; his eyes look normal, then go cloudy and his face begins to melt. He waves, then disappears. Dean struggles with the door in Blind Man's trailer, trying to get out. A knife flies past his head to bury in the door causing Dean and Delilah to jump. Delilah throws her arm out sending the invisible Rakshasa to the bug ridden bed.

"All right!" Dean cheers. He manages to get the door open and they both get out of there, with Dean tumbling. Outside, Sam catches up with them.

"Hey! Hey. So, Cooper thinks I'm a Peeping Tom, but it's not him," Sam informed them.

"Yeah, so I gathered. It's the blind guy, he's here somewhere," Dean told him.

"Well, did you get the -"

"The brass blades? No, it's been one of those days."

"I got an idea. Come on," Sam said.

They enter the funhouse; as they go through, a door slams between them, leaving Sam on the other side. They then have a huge struggle as they tried to open it.

"Sam!" Dean yelled.

"Dean! Delilah! Dean, Delilah, find the maze, okay?" Dean and Delialh heard Sam said on the other side.

Dean turns to Delilah, "Can't you do something?"

"I'm sorry, but something in this damn funhouse if effecting my powers. Look, the sooner we find Sam, the sooner we can kill the Rakshasa," She told him. Dean and Delilah made their way through the funhouse before going around around the corner and meeting Sam.

"Hey," Dean greeted.

"Hey! Where is it?" Sam asked.

"I don't know, I mean, shouldn't we see its clothes walking around?"

"This isn't the invisible man, Dean," Delilah told him.

A knife flies past Dean, pinning his sleeve to the wall and another one pins his wrist.

"Sam!" Dean called. Sam pulls the pipe all the way off and stalks forward slowly. A knife flies past his head; he dodges.

"Dean, Delilah, where is it?" Sam asked.

"I don't know," Dean reaches up and pulls a lever; more steam pours from the pipe organ, giving a vague shape to the invisible attacker, which Delilah sees.

"Sam, behind you!" Delilah alerts him before using her abilities to remove the pipe from his hand and stab the invisible creature.

Sam turns and sees the pipe buried in the still-invisible creature, blood pouring from the wound. Dean manages to free himself. They look to where it's fallen and see only empty clothes and a bloody pipe.

"I hate funhouses," Dean voiced.

* * *

After finishing the case, the three returned to the Roadhouse. Dean, Delilah, and Sam are sitting at the bar; Ellen lays down a couple of beers.

"You three did a hell of a job," Ellen congratulated them, "Your dad would be proud, boys"

"Thanks," Sam said.

Jo, sitting down on the other side of Dean, gives Sam and Delilah a look.

"Oh yeah, um, I've gotta... uh, I've gotta go. Over there. Right now," Sam stumbled.

"Come on, Sam," Delilah grabbed him by the arm and led him to a table.

The back door opens and Ash enters, carrying the folder and a bizarre looking laptop.

"Where you guys been? Been waitin' for ya."

"We were working a job, Ash," Sam reminded Ash.

"Yeah, Killer Clowns ring any bells?" Deiliah added.

"Clowns? What the f-" Ask began before Dean cuts him off.

"You got something for us, Ash?"

Ash sets the laptop down on a table. It looks homemade, with exposed wiring.

"Did you find the demon?" Sam asked.

"It's nowhere around. At least, nowhere I can find. But if this fugly bastard raises his head, I'll know. I mean, I'm on it like Divine on dog dookie," Ash told them.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, any of those signs or omens appear, anywhere in the world. my rig'll go off. Like a fire alarm," He explained. Dean reaches for the laptop and Ash gives him a look.

"Do you mind.." Dean reaches for the laptop and Ash gives him a look.

"Hey, what's up, man?" Ash said.

"Ash, where did you learn to do all this?" Sam asked.

"M.I.T. Before I got bounced for... fighting," He answered.

"M.I.T.?" Sam questioned.

"It's a school in Boston."

"Okay," Dean said before asking Ash, "You give us a call as soon as you know something?"

"Si, si, compadre," He replied.

Dean takes another sip of his beer, then sets it down. Ash picks it up and takes a sip. Dean, Delilah, and Sam get up to leave.

"Hey, listen, if you three need a place to stay I've got a couple beds out back," Ellen told them.

"Thanks, but no. There's something I gotta finish," Dean said.

"Okay."

The three went out the door and left the Roadhouse to head back to Bobby's.

* * *

After getting back to Bobby's scrapyard, Dean is working on the car again, Sam is pacing nearby. Delilah watches the two talk from afar and knew Sam was talking to Dean about their father before he leaves. Dean is still for a moment. He picks up a crowbar and smashes the window of a nearby car. Then he starts slamming it into the trunk of his own car, over and over. It clatters to the ground, and Dean looks after where Sam has gone, lip trembling. Delilah wishes that she could do something or tell them something, but she knew that they wouldn't be able to understand at least for now.


End file.
